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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Mud

Rainy season is beginning here in Murrupula. For me, that means cooler weather, albeit a
higher humidity when the sun does come out; the sound of rain pattering on the
zinc roof, sometimes relaxing, other times
so loud you can’t think; thrill from filling up your water buckets with
rainwater; and mud. Walking in the rain,
getting a little damp or even soaked, not a problem. The problem is the mud that accompanies.

Here in the north, there isn’t much dirt, it’s
mostly sand. Thus, the mud becomes this
slushy, sandy, though still “muddy”, sticky substance along the walking
paths. There are no paved roads, no cemented
sidewalks here, just mud.

You begin your walk tentatively trying to stay out
of the mud puddles and mud rivers that form, walking daintily in an effort not
to flip up too much mud with your sandal, or more importantly, to ensure you have
a secure foothold before lifting the other foot. You forget about the umbrella and realize the
wind is blowing the rain anyway and turn your focus to scouting out the best
path with the less mud.

Then it gets to the point where you stand, blocked
by the mud river that has formed in your path.
No way around it. No way over
it.

You start to look around and realize that all
Mozambicans have vanished and you are the only one walking in the rain. A few people look out from their covered
porches. Children take baths in the
water falling from rain gutters. But ultimately,
everyone has hidden themselves away from the rainwater.

Still facing the mud river, your only option
really is to go through it, hoping it’s less deep than it looks.

2 comments:

You must be quite a curiousity to these Mozambicans. I wonder what they're thinking?Why is this stupid girl out in the rain? Why doesn't she go inside where it's dry? Why does she slop through the mud when she could go as soon as the rain stops and the roads dry out? Who is this crazy lady? Are all Americans this dumb?Dad

I long ago decided that everything and anything I do will be perceived as strange to them, and very quickly you sort of embrace that ha. The thing is, sometimes the rain lasts for only a few minutes, other times it doesn't cease. And the roads never dry out, drainage doesn't really exist.